1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fence gates and in particular to connection of a loose gate post to a fixed gate post of a wire-fence gap-closer gate.
2. Relation to Prior Art
Many farm and ranch wire fences have wire-fence gap-closer gates which are not used frequently and which often are not intended to be permanent structure. Accordingly, these wire-fence gap-closer gates are preferably inexpensive instead of elaborate and highly convenient.
Conventionally, wire-fence gap-closer gates have ends of fence wiring from one direction affixed to a loose post that is attachable to a fixed post having fence wiring from another direction. To close a gap-closer gate, a bottom of the loose post is inserted into a bottom loop of wire that is affixed to the fixed post. Then a top of the loose post is positioned in a top loop of wire that is affixed to a top of the fixed post.
Difficulties with these gap-closer gates occur in tightening the top loop on the loose post sufficiently to achieve tightness of fence wiring of the gap-closer gate and sufficiently also to achieve fence tightness of fence wiring attached to fixed posts at opposite sides of the gap-closer gates. Un-looping the top loop to open a tightly closed gap-closer gate is difficult. These are problems that can be overcome inexpensively and conveniently with this invention. The age-old gap-closer gate becomes a gate of relative convenience instead of a time-consuming hassle with unreliable closing.
There are other known wire-fence gates, but none for opening and closing a wire-fence gap-closer gate in a manner taught by this invention.
Examples of different but related gates are described in the following patent documents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,083, issued to Rass, described an electric fence with a vertically pivotal arch that was swung up to allow passage under it while maintaining electrical contact across the gate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,320, issued to Hegarty, described a total fence system for wire-mesh fences having an angle-iron post that could be used as a gate, terminal or corner post. U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,480, issued to Nichol, described an electrified hanging-wire gate that shocked animals touching closely hanging electrically charged wires to prevent their passage but allowed non-shock passage of vehicles with rubber wheels that insulated against current flow.